Morningstar Manor

All Del's unwanted possessions had been packed away and he was left with one smallish bag, his wallet and his phone. Where they were going clothes would be optional and if Eris decided to take a trip to warm up Anchorage they were in sufficient funds to buy what they needed when they got there.

He got a last coffee and seated himself in his favourite seat in the Mocha to wait for his lady.

###

Gil was grabbing some quiet time in the library with a heap of recipe books and one of the computers. While the printer churred and chugged and spat out nice new inventory lists he leafed through the books wincing at the over coloured pictures and occasionally snorting at the recipes.

But sometimes he nodded and scribbled in a dog eared notebook. You could always learn something new.

###

Charlie was in the conservatory with a pile of printed off pictures and a pair of scissors. If anyone passed he went very still, trying not to attract attention. He was good at that - still hadn't lost the knack of self-effacement he'd found so necessary when he arrived.

But this time it wasn't because he was scared of the world and everything in it. It was because the pictures he was so carefully cutting out were of handsome, smiling and mostly naked young men and were destined for a very special project he had in mind.

He just didn't want to give offence.

###

Andy read a novel with a sense of utter luxury and sipped a latte from time to time without much enjoyment. Her doctor had impressed upon her that double shot espresso could be overly stimulating, in fact addictive and that she really wouldn't want a new born that was going cold turkey.

She turned another page, read a bit, and snickered. Harlequin Historicals. Priceless. And hardly stimulating anything at all, other than her funny bone.

He wouldn't be needing winter woollies so packed them away carefully and taped up the box and put it with the stack to go down to the storage unit he and Eris had hired.

"Sibyl," he called as he went into the kitchen. "Which of the pots and pans should I leave you? No point in me boxing everything if you can use them."

The Mocha was jumping today and many Manor regulars were out and about.

Deacon sat at a table reading over an email Seth had sent to him. It spoke of collars and other alternatives to them and had gotten Deacon thinking. But when Nia insisted on climbing into his lap he closed the email and instead opened up the video player to one of her Winnie the Pooh shows. He'd have to take her to daycare soon so that he could go to the dojo but until then they had a bit of time. So she sat happily in his lap, munching on a cookie and watching Pooh Bear and Deacon sipped his coffee and smiled down at her curly head.

****

Erik had been on the phone when he'd first arrived in the Mocha - speaking to his estate agent and working out everything that would need to be done before he and Angela returned home. Moving everything from their flat here back to Norfolk was a daunting task and so when that call ended - and he'd gotten his tea and found a table - he took a moment to simply sit. He'd had a bit of time before the next call needed to be made.

****

Micah sat in one of the chairs near the Mocha door, sipping his coffee and staring at nothing in particular. He was still furious with Robert Rossi's assumption that he could be bought off like that and hadn't yet said anything to Isabella about it. He'd need to though and likely soon. He'd also need to tell Max about the baby. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to.

****

Across the room at at a table Max was reading a paper and enjoying coffee and a bagel before it was time to head to work. Something was up with Micah, he knew, and he'd give it a bit more time before pressing the issue. Then there was the matter of Sterrin and her ex. Granted Max hadn't seen anymore of the man he'd sent to the ER but the fight had obviously caused a riff between Sterrin and her brother - something Max wasn't pleased with.

He sighed and turned a page in the newspaper. Relationships could be such a bother.

****

Rhys was back in the Mocha as well, dressed for work in slacks, a button up and a tie that hung a bit loose around his neck. A duffle bag with a change of clothes and his scrubs sat at his feet and he munched on his bagel and drank his coffee and mentally prepared for his shift.

She'd gotten a bit distracted the last time she'd tried to bring up the trip and this time was determined to actually have the conversation. She was so tired of the dreary grey skies of the City and the snow/slush on the sides of the roads.

Shifting against Del in his bed, draped half over him, she kissed and nipped at his collar bone then folded her hands on his chest and rested her chin on them, looking at him.

"Wakey, wakey," she said with a smile, and one hand slipped beneath the covers to help him wake up.

Jackson and Evans had booked leave at the same time. This happened in even the best regulated offices. When one man said his vacation was end of February and the other said his was first week of March it sometimes took a while to catch on that those dates included a common weekend. So they had drawn straws who would cover the Saturday night and Vincenzo, fuming, had picked the wrong one. It didn't help that he also had the Saturday afternoon shift as well.

But coffee would keep him going. Lots of coffee.

He stood in the queue and waited his turn, thinking about what he had planned for Emily tomorrow.

###

Fin had a book and some coffee and no commitments at all - which meant he was on edge and unhappy. He was a man who dearly loved a dead line. Also he had just had a very disturbing encounter with Andy Andrassy. He didn't dislike women in general but some were scary and she was just plain terrifying.

Lots of coffee was what he needed too.

###

Another man with a book was Leo Beck, reading through that years edition of the writer's handbook with a slightly bemused expression on his face. Occasionally he reached out and stirred his tea - which was getting cold.

###

Allan was garnering evil looks from the barista because he had been struck with a brilliant idea for a sculpture and to help the thought process was constructing a maquette out of pipecleaners and damp napkins. He always thought better if he had something to do with his hands.

###

Gil had nothing at all to do for the moment - not even a paper to read - and was enjoying the comparative silence before he had to go to work. Not that he disliked his job - he loved it - but a few moments calm before the madness was to be relished.

###

Del was less happy. He had worked last night, had a thick head, and suspected that Eris was making her mind up to move on. He'd go, of course - if she asked him to.

If.

He sipped his latte and wondered what he'd do if she didn't.

###

Charlie glowed happily as he sat in the corner and drew. Deacon was watching the sport, Nia was having tea with Aunty Andy and Unka Ekka - he snickered every time she called Erik that, and Charlie could feel the gentle pressure of his little collar under the fold of the scarf swathing his neck.

He smiled across the Mocha, his pencil moving with confident strokes, and drew anyone who crossed his line of sight.

The pool house had been specially warmed for the occasion and extra loungers brought up. Screens had been erected for the models to change behind and everything was ready for the beautiful people to arrive.

They had their schedules - the ones who would be wearing the collection items and those who would be providing a back drop - and it was anticipated that the shoot would last most of the day and maybe into the evening. There was no knowing.

[ooc: Party post so tag in and let the pups chat amongst themselves, or if they want input from one of the staff, please give us a poke.]

Into the Mocha they went and Kris looked around, seeing a few of the gorgeous faces and bodies he had hoped to see, and he cleared his throat and tapped on a table to attract their attention.

"Um - ladies, gentlemen," he said, "we are in - frankly - awful trouble and are hoping some of you might be kind enough to help us out. The fact is - we have a designer and a complete collection of clothing but the photographer and all the models are stuck in Switzerland. So - would you be prepared to wear Lewis's clothes and have photos taken? What do you say?"

He looked round hopefully. "Anyone?"

Del, at a loose end, lounged on one of the couches reading a novel in Spanish and sipping iced coffee and dreaming of white beaches, brilliant sunshine and girls in hardly anything at all. Winter - he hated it. Not that he wanted to go anywhere - his job for De Rossi was still fun - but some sun would be nice.

~

Brendan had come down to buy a bag of coffee beans because, while Zack was still too poorly to drink much of it, Brendan needed the bursts of caffeine to keep him going. He thought the crisis was past, thank God, but Zack didn't seem to be improving quickly. Between tiredness and worry Brendan needed all the help he could get.

~

Andy had come home from work early with a crashing headache and a general down on the entire world. It was just one of those days and she didn't much care who knew it. With her aching forehead propped on his fist, she flipped through a copy of Smashing that someone had left there and thought snide things about the glamour pusses within.

~

Finally Allan breezed in to the Mocha with his duffle bag on his shoulder, having dumped the rest of his luggage on a trolley in the lobby. Someone from maintenance would be along to help him move in just now, he had been assured. Meantime - coffee!

Del had been in the office in the afternoon and he and Daphne had had a bit of a heart to heart.

Frankly they were both pretty worried about Isabella - Daphne because she saw her frequently and could see how tense she was, and Del because he hadn't seen her to speak to since the funeral and that just wasn't regular.

So when he got home he whipped up a bowl of rocky road ice cream [Haagen Das double choc allowed to thaw a little with crushed macaroons, cherries, marshmallows and chocolate sauce folded into it], stuck two spoon in the bowl and jogged up the stairs to pre-emptively work off the calories.

He arrived at her door breathing only a little heavily and tapped - ba-bap-ba-bap.

Del had been working - a long gig, noon til noon, and had been on his way home when he had called the hospital to see if he could speak to Lysette. Shocked, he had called Isabella's apartment and got only the answer machine - which meant either she was at home with Micah and didn't want to be disturbed or she was in New York organising the funeral.

Either way Daphne could do with a spare pair of hands so he turned back and went to the office, letting himself in and looking around with surprise to see an empty outer office.

"Daph?" he called and strolled across to Isabella's office.

Isabella was sitting beside her mother's bed watching her sleep. Her mother had started the habit of asking Isabella to read to her and every time it was a book from Isabella's early childhood. This time it'd been an especially poignant one and they'd both cried and then laughed at themselves before Lysette had settled in for her afternoon nap.

She knew Lysette would be waking up soon and even though Isabella had plenty of things she could be doing, she didn't move from her spot by the bed. The doctors had told her it wouldn't be long now and she wanted every second of her mother she could get, even if it meant doing nothing but watching her breathe.

Not everyone was that careful about how they disposed of their garbage - which was how it happened that Palug was able to drag a turkey carcass into the lobby and hide under a chair with it. The vigorous purring and crunching sounds were audible several paces away.

~

Nick had dropped several boxes of screws down the stairwell and was cursing and collected the scatter. "Mind your feet," he called as he heard footsteps.

~

Fin was taking a call from a customer so had paused in the conservatory phone to ear, enjoying the curl of the steam from his coffee cup.

~

Leo had tea so all was right with the world. It was some of that new tea too and he was feeling uncommonly alert. He flipped a page on the brief his was reading and scribbled a note in the margin.

~

Del was sleepy, but had got up because he was hungry. Hungry for a Mocha caramel muffin. Sometimes you just HAD to.

Ricky was happy. He had a large pot of Karma Chai, was slouching on a sofa with a little computer balanced on his knee, working away at some list, happy as a clam. He was listening to some music with one ear -- one wire leading into his mane, one earbud dangling loose, at least -- and would be quite gregarious to anybody who'd come and talk into his spare ear.

Andras was much less happy; he was wondering what to say to Fin the next time he saw him, and brooding into his latte. He felt he was digging himself into a corner as it was, but now he was discovering that that corner was actually the fucking midden. 'Doubleplusungood' was a mild way of putting it. He picked up the magazine he had and tried to read, but it didn't help, because it was the one published by that bloke Declan with whom he'd had a one night stand some weeks back. He sighed.

Sibyl was actively unhappy; she was sitting at a table by the window, looked out, and pondered. As yet, everybody had kept mum about the theft at the museum, and people came in droves to gawk happily at the glass replica; but the atmosphere at work was such that she fled in terror every evening as early as she could possibly justify, and instead sat in her room in Del's flat, listening to audio books and working on the needlepoint from the broken chair, which was all but finished now. But if and when it all came out, the porta-potty was definitely going to hit the helicopter rotor blades, and when the first large donations were withdrawn, who would they fire first? Whom they hired last, of course! It wasn't that Sibyl couldn't have four other jobs starting tomorrow anywhere, but she actually liked the Manor and wanted to stay at least until she had found all the fascinating things that were there to be found. She didn't want to leave yet!

Holiday weekends were slow at the escort agency and that was FINE because Del had been able to demand Eris's attention for the evening. Both were regulars at Sanctuary so had headed there without discussion.

Over the course of the evening they danced together, danced apart, and found a boy who didn't mind forming the other slice of bread in an Eris sandwich. In fact Del had to push the stranger's hand back up to his waist a couple of times.

Not that he minded. it was all good fun.

Del hadn't actually been home yet. Last night's date had been - demanding - so he had stayed for breakfast and had left her purring while he showered and changed into his emergency kit and decided to drop off her fat cheque, plus his bonus first before going to get some well earned sleep.

Today was a day for the lift rather than the stairs, so he pressed the button then stood blinking and wondering if he would be first in.

Hi,

Just thought I ought to mention that it's Isabella's birthday on Friday. Just in case she hasn't already mentioned it.

Cheers,

Del Avilar

Jazz sat at a table in the Mocha, sipping a coffee and ignoring her speech flash cards. She'd thought a quick coffee break and a change of scenery would help her focus, but turned out she was just as inclined to slack off here as she was at home. Her mind was still prone to wandering and replaying memories from the past week.

Tom had said she could see right through him, and she hadn't challenged that, but truth was she'd never expected what he'd said, what he'd offered. There were still times she wasn't sure if it had really happened or not and she always ended up smiling stupidly at nothing as she reminded herself that yes, it had.

Like now. She caught herself grinning in the general direction of someone in the queue, someone who was looking back at her in an confused fashion, and looked away, clearing her throat and blushing lightly, but still smiling.

Del sat reading through some notes he had made about his job for tomorrow night - a man this time though he had been promised that no 'special services' would be required or expected - and took occasional sips of his chai latte. He still hadn't made up his mind about it.

###

Nick had no doubts - Karma Chai was the business with a whole night of on-call ahead of him. He took his cup over to the couch, settled down with a book and hoped nobody would require hi services.

Filing was not the most glamorous of jobs but it was necessary and was something Del could do with ease as long as, he said, he had Daphne's legs to look at.

She rolled her eyes at him, told him to get on with it and smiled when she thought he wasn't looking.

Apparently Isabella was interviewing a new girl. Del couldn't help but be curious so took his time over the filing then asked Daphne for another job to do.

Robert Rossi sat in Lysette's hospital room with her, helping her put together a 1000 piece puzzle of Marilyn Monroe. Lysette's surgery was coming up and he found himself here more often, staying longer, even after she was asleep to just look at her. The thought that he could lose her too was enough to make him have a break down. He wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but he was also sticking around more on the hope of running into Isabella. His men had been unable to find anything out. There were no police reports concerning her being raped, attacked, or killed, and she hadn't gone to the hospital for any sort of injury. He knew by the use of her credit card that she was still alive, but had she been raped? Or had she sold the necklace a long time ago and it just happened to be a coincidence that the man had it in his pocket? He was worried sick and worst of all, he couldn't say anything to Lysette. He didn't want to worry her too.